Boise, ID – It was almost one of the great comebacks of all-time. But you know what they say about almost….
 
Down 19 points with 9:23 to play in the game, Portland State stormed back to within a point on two occasions in the final minute, but couldn't quite pull it off as it lost to Montana, 75-72, in a Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinal at Idaho Central Arena.

Montana moves on to the Big Sky Tournament Championship game on Wednesday while the Vikings tournament ends. PSU, the Big Sky regular season champion, is 20-11 on the season. Montana, the number-four seed in the tournament, is 18-15 and will play the winner of the Idaho/Eastern Washington semifinal.
 
Montana was the one matchup the Vikings struggled with this season, as the Griz swept the Vikings during the conference schedule. PSU beat every other team in the Big Sky Conference, and most of them twice. Montana's three wins over the Vikings came by a combined 13 points.
 
The Griz followed the lead of their all-conference guard Money Williams who had 32 points and six rebounds in the game. Most significantly, he got them off to a great start with 13 points in the opening five minutes.
 
Portland State got a game-high 23 points from Jaylin Henderson. Kelcy Phipps scored 14 points and Terri Miller Jr. had 12 points.
 
Coming off a 40-point game in a quarterfinal win over Northern Colorado, Montana's Williams remained hot against the Vikings. He scored the Griz' first 13 points of the game as they led 13-7 early.
 
Williams finally cooled down, but so did the Vikings, who went more than five minutes without a score. Montana extended the lead to 21-7 midway through the first half. PSU was down 24-9 when the offense finally lit up behind a pair of three-pointers from Phipps. The Vikings pulled within 24-17, but that was as close as they would get before halftime.
 
Montana simply shot the ball extremely well, making 14-23 from the field (.609) and 7-12 from three-point range (.583) on the way to a 39-24 halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Vikings were a woeful 8-32 from the field (.250).
 
The Griz stretched the lead out to 45-26 on a three-pointer by Te'Jon Sawyer early in the second half. In fact, the Vikings trailed by 19 points on three occasions, the last coming at 9:23 to play (51-32).
 
That's when the game got interesting.
 
With just under eight minutes to play, the Vikings threw on a full court press. They forced a pair of turnovers and went on an eight-point run, closing the gap to 53-43 with 7:16 left. The press continued to be effective, as Montana had seven turnovers over a span of six minutes. That was all Portland State needed to find some life.
 
Led by Henderson and an interchangeable group of Vikings, all of whom made contributions, PSU continued to chip away.
 
When Henderson drove the lane and scored with 48 seconds left, the Vikings were within three at 68-65. Montana made two free throws, then Henderson scored on a drive again with 41 seconds left and it was 70-67.
 
Chase Henderson made one free throw for the Griz and Montana led by four.
 
On PSU's next possession, Brycen Long was fouled on a three-point attempt. He splashed all three free throws and with 28 seconds to go it was a one-point game at 71-70.
 
Again the Vikings had to foul and Money Williams made both for a 73-70 score. And again, Henderson scored on a drive making the score 73-72 with 14.8 seconds to play.
 
Tyler Isaak was fouled on the in-bound play and made both free throws for Montana pushing the lead back to three at 75-72.
 
PSU had one last chance. Long missed a three-pointer but the rebound went out of bounds to the Vikings with 5.7 seconds to play. Vikings Coach Jase Coburn called timeout to set up a play.
 
This time, Sebastian Tidor got a look at a three-pointer. He, too, missed and the clock rank out in the ensuing scramble for the rebound. The Vikings' tournament hopes were over.
 
Montana won the game with its shooting, making 24-47 overall (.511) and 11-25 three-pointers (.440). PSU had a rough night with a 22-70 shooting mark (.314), including 4-28 three-pointers (.143). Only solid free throw shooting down the stretch kept them alive as they made 19-21 in the second half and 24-27 overall (.889).
 
The Vikings won the rebound battle, 37-34, and forced 18 turnovers for 22 points, while committing just seven turnovers of their own. But the shooting discrepancy was just too much.
 
"Credit Montana, they played a good game and had a good defensive game plan," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "Credit to our players for not giving up. That's part of our culture, that we never give up.
 
"To be down 19 and still have a chance to win the game with a couple seconds left, that's pretty crazy.
 
"I'm proud of our team for clawing back in that game. Obviously, losing sucks, but ultimately we took a couple minutes (in the locker room) to reflect on all the good things this team has done this season. We won a regular season championship for the first time since 2008. This is one of my most favorite teams I have ever coached, and definitely the most resilient groups I have ever coached. I hope they made all the Portland State Vikings proud – current and former."
 

GAME NOTES

• Tre-Vaughn Minott led the Vikings with 12 rebounds.
• The Vikings were missing Keyon Kensie Jr. for the second straight game due to an injury.
• With 20 wins, PSU had the third-most wins in its Big Sky Conference history and most under Jase Coburn… PSU finished 11-3 at home, 8-7 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games.
• The Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals have proven to be a challenge for the Viking program as they are now 2-8 all-time in those games… PSU is 15-20 all-time in Big Sky Tournament games, 1-2 against Montana.